From the Editor

Over my many years of interviewing patients at Johns Hopkins, a common refrain has emerged: “I’ve struggled for years with my illness, seeing doctor after doctor. I’d just about given up. But at Johns Hopkins, I finally found answers.”

That exhausting medical odyssey is particularly acute for patients suffering from POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). It’s a devastating condition, striking patients — mostly women — at the prime of life. And for too long, many have had their symptoms dismissed (“It’s all in your head”). Fortunately, that’s changing, thanks in no small part to the efforts of clinician leaders in the Johns Hopkins POTS Program (p. 18).

The relief that I heard in the voices of patients with POTS — patients overjoyed to be taken seriously at last — made me grateful anew for Johns Hopkins clinicians who are so committed to finding the answers patients desperately need.

Sue De Pasquale

Feedback

After reading “An Uphill Climb,” about the history of plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins [Annals, Fall 2024], I am curious as to the identity of the third “historical giant” to whom Dr. John Staige Davis sent a copy of his plastic surgery textbook. William Welch and William Halsted are obvious choices. But Robert Williams? No such name appears in the index of Alan Chesney’s three-volume history of the early days at Hopkins. Ditto for Tommy Turner’s Heritage of Excellence.

My guess is that the individual in question is J. Whitridge Williams, a giant in the early days of obstetrics — who occupied the chair of obstetrics when that specialty was split off from Howard Kelley’s domain of gynecology — and long-time dean of the school of medicine. Maybe a step or two below the hallowed Big Four, but nonetheless a power to be reckoned with.

William H. Jarrett II, M.D.

Thank you so much for writing to set the record straight. —Editor

I read with interest “Breaking Barriers” [Fall 2024], about the recent Bloomberg Philanthropies gift of $1 billion, “[making] Johns Hopkins free for most medical students.” Bravo, Johns Hopkins, for creating a new level playing field for a career in medicine!

Peter J. Dorsen, M.D. (Housestaff, JHBMC, 1974–1976)

We heard you!

Thanks to those who’ve written to share concerns about readability. We heard you! With this issue we’ve bumped up our type size throughout the magazine. Here’s hoping for a more inviting reader experience. Please continue to share your feedback: sdepasq1@jhmi.edu.